Navajo code talker from World War II dies

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Navajo Code Talkers attend the 2011 Citi Military Appreciation Day event at Citi Pond in New York City on November 11, 2011.

Story highlights

Several hundred Navajo code talkers served in World War II

They transmitted key messages from the front line in their native language

The Japanese never managed to crack the code

Only a few code talkers remain alive today

George Smith, one of the Navajo code talkers who helped the U.S. military outfox the Japanese during World War II by sending messages in their obscure language, has died, the president of the Navajo Nation said.

"This news has saddened me," Ben Shelly, the Navajo president, said in a post Wednesday on his Facebook page. "Our Navajo code talkers have been real life heroes to generations of Navajo people."

Smith died Tuesday, Shelly said, and the Navajo Nation's flag is flying at half-staff until Sunday night to commemorate his life.

Several hundred Navajo tribe members served as code talkers for the United States during World War II, using a military communications code based on the Navajo language. They sent messages back and forth from the front lines of fighting, relaying crucial information during pivotal battles like Iwo Jima.

"They have brought pride to our Navajo people in so many ways," Shelly said. "The nation's prayers and thoughts are with the family at this time as they mourn the passing of a great family man who served his country and protected his people."

Shelly's Facebook post didn't mention Smith's age or the cause and location of his death. A statement about the death on the official Navajo Nation website was not accessible late Thursday.